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A. J. KNIGHT & J. B. THOMAS.

PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

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UNITE STATES ALFRED J. KNIGHT, OF

. PATENT OFFICE.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND JESSE B. THOMAS, OF BOONTON, NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,421, dated April 9,1895.

Application filed November 5,1894. Serial No. 527,883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ALFRED J. KNIGHT, of Chicago, county of Cook, Stateof Illinois, and JESSE B. THOMAS, of Boonton, county of Morris, State ofNew Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Portable Fire-Extinguishers,of which the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention relates to portable fire extinguishers of the classwherein are employed main and auxiliary receivers, the latter within theformer, and containing sulphuric acid or other equivalent substance,which when discharged into the main receiver to mix with the water andcarbonate of soda, or other substance or substances contained therein,generates carbonic acid gas which possesses powerful fire extinguishingproperties.

Our present invention relates particularly to the means for holding theauxiliary receiver within the main receiver, and for controlling thedischarge of the contents of the auxiliary receiver into the mainreceiver.

Prior to our invention, in apparatus of this type, the auxiliaryreceiver has been provided with a gravity closure for its outlet, which,when the main receiver is inverted, drops from its position closing thesaid outlet and permits the contents of the auxiliary receiver todischarge into the main'receiver, but in apparatus so constructed, sofar as we are aware, no means has ever been provided operatin g uponrighting of the receiver to direct the closure back to its closingposition always with substantially identical surfaces of the closure andauxiliary receiver in contact to form the seal.

Our present invention comprehends a suitable guide for the-stopper orclosure to thus direct the same back again into its closing position.

as inverted and with its closure removed from position closing theoutlet for said auxiliary receiver, said figure showing the parts in thepositions which they will occupy when the main receiver is inverted.Fig. 3 is a detail looking at the bottom of the holder for the auxiliaryreceiver, and Fig.4 is a perspective of the preferred form of closure.

Referring to the drawings, in the particular embodiment of our inventionselected and there shown to illustrate the same, A is the main receiverof suitable shape and construction, shown as provided with a suitablebase B upon which it may rest when not in use, a handle I) being alsoprovided for a purpose to be described.

The main receiver at its end opposite the base Bis provided with afilling opening a surrounded by an outwardly extended llange, exteriorlythreaded to receive the screwthreaded cap 0.

The outlet for the main receiver is shown at a, it having connected toit, as herein shown, a flexible hose or terminating in a dischargenozzle a The auxiliary receiver is shown at D, the same being preferablya common glass bottle held in position within a suitable holder, hereinshown as a metallic cylinder 61, cut away and thereby lightened at dsaid holder being soldered or otherwise secured to the removable cap a.

The bottle is confined in position within the holder cl, by and betweenthe inturned lips 61 which clasp the enlargement of the bottle near theneck and at the bottom of the holder, by the tongue (1 having one of itsends provided with two ears d which are extended through correspondingslots in the side of the holder and outside the latter are turned over,as best shown in Fig. 2, to constitute a hinge on which the said tonguemay be turned from its full to its dotted line position Fig. 2. In itsnormal position the tongue d extends across the bottom of the holder andprojects into and through an opening 01 in the holder at the sideopposite the hinge 01 The holder is preferably made of resilient metal,so that it may be compressed laterally, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 3,and thereby elongated in the direction of the tongue d ICO and when soelongated the longest diameter of the holder is greater than the lengthof the tongue 01 so that the latter by such elongation is withdrawn fromthe opening 61 which holds it in position locking the bottle within theholder and permits the said tongue to be turned into its dottedposition, Fig. 2, to permit withdrawal of the bottle.

In the preferred construction, the overturned ends (1 at the hinged endof the tongue are shaped, as shown, to bear against the outside of theholder and serve as springs to throw the tongue into its dottedposition-assoon as its free end is released from the opening (1 Thedischarge opening for the auxiliary receiver, at the end of the neck ofthe latter, is closed by a stopper or closure 6, which, in theconstruction herein shown, is provided with oppositely extendedprojections 8', e the latter extending into the neck of the receiver, asbest shown in Fig. 1. The projection a is extended into the end of atubular guide f, depending from the cover a, as shown in Fig. 1, boththe said projections in the preferred construction being made taperingor conical,-as shown.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows, viz:-The cover 0 isremoved and the receiver filled to at or near the level shown with amixture of water and carbonate of soda.

The auxiliary receiver D is then more or less filled with sulphuric acidand the receiver inserted in the holder at and the tongue (1 turned intoits full line position Fig. 2, looking the said auxiliary receiverinposition between the said tongue and the inturned lips d The closure 8,previously inserted in the holder and during insertion of the bottlebeing held in elevated position by the fingers inserted through theopenings d in said holder, is then permitted to drop by gravity upon theneck of the receiver to close the discharge opening therefor. The cover(Z is u now screwed down over and to close the filling opening for themain receiver, the holder and auxiliary receiver at such timedepending,it may be,into the liquid contained within the said mainreceiver. The apparatus may now be set aside and be permitted to remaininactive for any period of time. When it is needed for use, however, theoperator grasps the handle b and inverts or turns the main receiverupside-down, causing its contents to drop to the lowest end of thereceiver adjacent the discharge outlet a, and at the same time theclosure 6 drops by gravity away from and uncovering the dischargeopening for the auxiliary receiver, as shown in Fig. 2, permitting thecontents of said auxiliary receiver to gradually discharge into the mainreceiver and mix with the carbonate of soda and water therein containedand generate carbonic acid gas, which projects itself through thehose-ct and nozzle a upon the fire as directed.

It will be noticed that when the closure drops away from the dischargeopening for the auxiliary receiver, as shown in Fig. 2, it is preventedfrom rolling out from the holder or otherwise dropping from inoperativeposition, by the tubular guidef, which holds the said closure in suchposition that upon righting of the main receiver the closure again dropsback into its position Fig. 1 closing the auxiliary receiver, thetubular guide at such time directing the said closure into its properclosing position.

By providing a means such as described for directing the closure intoits closing position upon righting of the receiver, it is possi ble touse the apparatus for a time until the tire is extinguished, and thenagain right the receiver and at once stop the discharge of carbonic acidgas from the nozzle a and preserve so much of the contents of thereceiver as remains unused for future use.

The projection c on the closure, when the latter is removed to uncoverthe discharge opening for the auxiliary receiver,preferably stands inthe position, as shown in Fig. 2, di-

rectly in front of the said discharge opening to retard the discharge ofthe contents of the said auxiliary receiver, so that the latter 1 mixeswith the contents of the main receiver only so fast as is needed tosupply sufficient gas for use.

We have found the apparatus constructed as herein shown very effective,yet our invention is not limited to the particular construction shown,for it is evident our invention maybe embodied in other constructionswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

By providing the projection e to stand in front of or within thedischarge opening for the auxiliary receiver, we are enabled to make thedischarge of the contents of said auxiliary receiver slow, yet providinga large superficial area on the closure exposed to the action of thecontents of the said auxiliary receiver to insure the dropping away ofthe closure when the main receiver is inverted.

Having described our invention, and without limiting ourselves as todetails, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

'1. In a portable fire extinguisher constructed and to operate asdescribed, the combination with an auxiliary receiver having a dischargeopening, of a closure for said discharge opening, said closure havingoppositely extended projections, one of the same entering said opening,and aguide for the other of said projections to direct said closure backto its closing position, substantially as described.

2. A portable fire extinguisher, consisting of a vertical main receiverhaving a filling opening at one end, and an outlet, a cap closing saidfilling opening, a holder depending from said cap, and an auxiliaryreceiver removably contained in said holder, a gravity closure for thedischarge opening of said auxiliary receiver, and a tubular'guide withinsaid holder to return the said closure to its closing position when thesaid main receiver is placed in its normal upright position,substantially as described.

3. In a portable fire extinguisher, a main receiver, a removableauxiliary receiver, a resilient holder for and encircling the latter,and a locking tongue pivoted to said holder at one side and normallyentering an opening in the said holder at its opposite side, the saidtongue being released by lateral compression of said holder at its sidesto elongate the same in the direction of the length of said tongue,substantially as describe 4. In a portable fire-extinguisher construct-

